A concerning situation has become urgent for the Kings, who have six games remaining in the regular season, three at home and three on the road. A few takeaways from a decidedly difficult 4-1 loss Monday to the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center.

Tyler Toffoli’s season with the Kings has looked like one of those wild rides on the stock market -- big swings of volatility.
The youngster scored six goals in the first month, slowed down and recorded three goals in November. There was another...

ST. PAUL, Minn. The NHL's No. 1 penalty kill did it again.
On a night the sluggish Wild looked very much like a team that played the night before, the Wild's power-play extinguishers hopped the boards and once again performed admirably.
Behind the...

A few more takeaways after Tuesday night’s victory, before the Kings face the Islanders, traveling to the old barn, Nassau County Coliseum, for their last regular-season visit, on Thursday.
Back in the New York groove
Nothing quite like being in...

Sixty-six seconds was all it took to turn what was looking like a decent effort by the Kings at home into harsh reality, getting them knocked out of a wild-card playoff spot.
For the moment.
Nashville scored on consecutive shots, in a span of 66...

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The postgame conversation in the Kings dressing room started off about rookie center Nick Shore, but linemate Justin Williams extended it to other aspects of the organization.
Shore had an assist in the Kings' 4-0 victory over the Canucks and was a force in the faceoff circle, winning eight of nine in Vancouver on Thursday night. It's one thing to do that at the collegiate level or even in the American Hockey League but another matter against NHL competition.
He has appeared in 21 games and has five...

Goaltending duels you can realistically envision …
The Kings' Jonathan Quick vs. Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks. Quick vs. Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. Or Quick vs. Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.
Presumably, Quick vs. Andrew Hammond of the Ottawa Senators would have been far far down that list. The goalie was plying his trade with the Senators' American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton (N.Y.) as recently as Jan. 29.
Now he is the goalie with the magic touch....

One of the more devastating Kings losses this season ended up serving as a building block for the crucial stretch run.
Their third-period stumble at Florida on Feb. 5 served as a teachable moment and they haven't lost since that night of crucial miscues, winning five consecutive games.
"We gradually got a little better as the trip went on," left wing Dwight King said. "We built our game from the [All-Star] break on. That was an eye-opener [in Florida]; how quick things can change if you don't...

It didn’t seem that long ago that some disgruntled Kings fans were talking about the lottery, thinking about the longest of long shots and maybe even mumbling the name Connor McDavid. Team Stretch Run, thy name is Kings. A few takeaways after the Kings’ fifth straight victory, a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.
King for the day: Jordan Nolan
The man scoring the go-ahead goal against Tampa Bay on Monday in exciting fashion in the third period was not Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter...

The Western Conference Assistance Program was not operating Monday night.
At least not from a Kings perspective.
So it ended up turning into a self-help night for the Kings. In other words, they managed to pick up ground in the playoff race, beating Tampa Bay, 3-2, at Staples Center.
It was the Kings' fifth straight victory — their second-longest winning streak of the season — and it put them within two points of San Jose, which occupies the final wild-card playoff spot.
"Things are...

What you had were the usual suspects joined by the two unfamiliar names, of late, on the goal-scoring ledger, adding up to a workable mix of offense for the Kings.
Finally, the 70s trio — Dwight King, Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli — got plenty of supplemental support in the Kings' fourth straight victory, which happens to be their second-longest winning streak of the season.
Forward Trevor Lewis' and center Jarret Stoll's third-period goals lifted the Kings to a 3-1 victory over the...